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Audio Stop 210

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A white man in military uniform rides a horse in front of a regiment of five rows of Black troops in this sculpture, which is painted entirely in gold. The artist created a shallow, stage-like space with an arched top so the men are sculpted in three dimensions, though they become more compressed as they move back in space. The men and horse face our right in profile in this view. The man on the horse has a pointed, straight nose and a goatee. He wears a cap with a flat top and narrow brim, a knee-length coat, gloves, and knee-high boots with spurs. He holds a thin sword down by the side of the horse with his right hand and holds the reins of the horse with his left. The horse’s head is pulled upward by the short reins, and its mouth is open around the bit. About twenty soldiers are lined up in rows beyond the horse, and they march in unison. They carry blankets rolled atop knapsacks, canteens, and rifles resting on their right shoulders. However, the details of how their uniforms bunch up around their equipment and the way their caps have been molded and fit is unique to each person. Their ages also vary from young and cleanshaven to bearded, older men. Two men carry furled flags near the back, to our left, and a drummer boy plays at the head of the regiment, to our right. All the men look straight ahead, their lips closed. A woman in a billowing robe floats above them under the arched top of the sculpture with her eyes closed. Her left arm is outstretched, and she holds a laurel branch and poppies close to her body with her right arm. An inscription in the upper right corner is created with raised capital letters: “OMNIA RELINQVIT SERVARE REMPVBLICAM.” A longer inscription is carved into the base along the bottom edge of the memorial, also in all caps: “ROBERT GOVLD SHAW KILLED WHILE LEADING THE ASSVLT ON FORT WAGNER JVLY TWENTY THIRD EIGHTEEN HVNDRED AND SIXTY THREE.” The artist’s signature is inscribed In the lower right corner, in smaller letters: “AVGVTVS SAINT GAVDEN M-D-C-C-C-L X X X X V I I I.”

Augustus Saint-Gaudens

The Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial, 1900

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 66

Carl Cruz, descendant of a sergeant in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, discusses the power of Saint-Gaudens’s depiction of one of the first military units of Black soldiers formed in the North during the Civil War, and the legacies it carries for us today.  

Read full audio transcript

NARRATOR:
This memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens celebrates an extraordinarily courageous – and groundbreaking - group of men. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was one of the first military units of Black soldiers formed in the North in the Civil War. Among their ranks was Sergeant William H. Carney.

CARL CRUZ:
My name is Carl Cruz and I am the great-great-grandnephew of Sgt William H. Carney.

NARRATOR:
Sergeant Carney, a 22-year-old seaman from New Bedford, MA, enlisted in the 54th Regiment in February of 1863.

CARL CRUZ:
It was one way of him assuring that men of color, men who had been enslaved, would be able to have freedom.

NARRATOR:
The memorial shows the soldiers marching, with Colonel Robert Gould Shaw on horseback. On the night of July 18th, 1863, the 54th stormed Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina. The battle was fierce and the 54th suffered significant casualties. Amidst the fighting, the color bearer was wounded and could no longer hold the flag.  Immediately, Carney picked up the American flag, and later describing what he had witnessed, recounted:

CARL CRUZ:
In less than 20 minutes, I found myself alone, struggling upon the ramparts, while all around me were the dead and wounded, lying one upon another.

NARRATOR:
Sergeant Carney, badly injured himself, eventually reached safety. He told his comrades:

CARL CRUZ:
'I only did my duty. Boys, the old flag never touched the ground.' And that became a rallying point for more Blacks to join the Union forces, which eventually helped the Union forces to win the Civil War. It certainly influenced President Abraham Lincoln.

NARRATOR:
Although the 54th Regiment lost the battle, the African American soldiers were hailed for their bravery and became an inspiration for many.


CARL CRUZ:
When I think of the men of the 54th, I really understand what Black Lives Matter means. To also fight for this nation's history, for this nation's freedoms - something we still are doing today. Carney and those men of the 54th, lived that, did that, died for that. So, I think they are an example for us. And hopefully, by telling these stories we will at some point truly overcome.  

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